have concerns with the security of nu- clear fuel supply for now and fully em- braces an international marketplace.” She noted that supply disruptions are much more quickly apparent in the oil industry vs. the uranium mar- ket, in which orders are made three to five years in advance; enriched fuel is typically purchased in 10-year con- tracts. “One of the greatest strengths of nuclear generation is that any given plant only needs to be refueled every 18 to 24 months, and the fuel that is delivered for that refueling has been contracted for and in processing for years,” she added. The lion’s share of that is coming from overseas, and as much as every-

IT’S EASY TO BLAME/ credit President Trump
when reviewing the current
climate of the commodity
markets. The man does know
how to move the needle, and
which way it heads is anyone’s guess. But I’d like to
spend this space discussing
a topic that is of interest to all
of us: how to make money in
an advancing market.

As of this writing, the mar-kets that most affect our in-dustry are currently steady,which is not necessarily abad thing. It holds true thatboth copper and steel are upconsiderably from their 2016lows. I’d much rather they notmove at all than move down,but futures on both are stillshowing positive, and that isgreat news for us.So when does payingmore for something become agood thing? When you are theone selling. John F. Kennedyfamously said, “A rising tidelifts all boats.” The sameholds true for an electricaldistributorship. I’d muchrather make 10 points on $3than the same on a $2 item.It’s easy math to calculatethat is 50% more profit.

A good distributor should
always keep its customers
informed with any uptick in
the market. By helping them
to understand why there is an
increase in goods, they can
relay that information to their
clients as well. Everyone
pays more, and the only one
that loses out is the one holding the final bill.

When tuna values are up,does his wholesaler, the dis-tributor, and the grocer. Theonly one that feels the pinchis the hungry consumer. Thesystem works, but it is verydelicate.My company sells inChicago, which is about ascutthroat as it gets and isvery much a cable and con-duit market. With more than100 different electrical dis-tributorships in and aroundthe city, it takes finesse tomake a buck.

When the rare opportunity
arises to make some margin,
almost everyone can cash in
—if it’s done right. Don’t think
the contractor that buys your
pipe is not marking that up
for its client as well. Some
distributors base pricing on
their last buy. If that was in
January, when the market
was 10% lower, they are leaving money on the table.

Whenever possible, sellstock based on what it’sworth, not what was paid forit. Sometimes this is to youradvantage (like right now),but other times, not so much.But that’s best practice andhopefully it results in moreupside than down. Manymoons ago a friend said tome, “You don’t make anymoney selling; you make it onbuying.” It’s solid advice andI only wish it was shared byeveryone.Every market has thatone fly in the ointment, how-ever, whether it’s a big-boxhome center or a distributor-ship that still cuts POs usingpaper and pencil. You simplycan’t stop their folly.

A fellow distributor here
in Chicago is often my “fly.” If
he was paying $100 for a purple peanut, he would mark
that up 10%. Often, he leverages his buying power by
stocking up on purple peanuts to pay just $90—while
still marking it up 10%. He
made a smart buy and yet
he is making $11 less with
every sale.

The purple peanut exam-ple is just one more reason tokeep your clients informed onwhy they might be payingmore. You never know whena purple peanut salesmanwill strike. Are you reallymaking more if your dollarsare worth less? ;

Kevin Reed is director of
purchasing and warehouse
operations at Paramont EO in
Chicago. He can be reached at
info@paramont-eo.com or

844-727-2666.Profiting in anAdvancing MarketMoney is made on buying, not selling.